Colostomy device



May 21, 1968 F. JEscHAWlTz COLOSTOMY DEVICE Filed Aug. 6, 1965 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,384,084 CULOSTMY DEVICE Fred JeSchaWitZ, 16 Bleachery St., Chadwicirs, NX. 13319 Filed Aug. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 477,917 4 Claims. (Cl. 12S-283) ABSCT F THE DISCLOSURE An improved Colostomy device includes a unitary protective shield shaped to surround and cover a body stoma in a secure sealing relationship. A passageway is formed through the protective shield so that body discharges may pass through the stoma and the passageway, and into a collection pouch which is carried externally of the protective shield. A supplemental shield extends into the collection pouch for a sufficient distance to protect the upper portion of the pouch and to prevent leakage around the top of the pouch. The passageway is shaped to provide and direct an uninterrupted fiow of discharges away from the stoma and into the collection pouch.

This invention relates to a Colostomy device, and more particularly to an improved Colostomy device having a protector shield included as an integral part of the entire assembly.

Colostomy devices are well known in the art and are designed for covering an artificial orifice formed in the abdominal wall of a human body. Normally such devices include belts for mounting a protective and sealing shield over the orifice, and alternatively, the belt can carry a pouch for collecting drainage of body fluids and other matter from'the orifice. The present invention provides for an improved colostorny device having the combined functions of collecting drainage from the open orifice, while at the same time providing a protective shield over the orifice.

The prior art type of devices have presented disadvantages in use because the Colostomy belt must be changed and fitted with either a shield or a collection pouch depending upon the requirements of the user. Usually the device includes a ring member which is carried by the Colostomy belt so as to be positioned over the orifice, and the ring member includes means for detachably mounting a plastic pouch or other container so as to receive discharges from the orifice. Such a construction offers no protection over the orifice itself since the plastic pouch must be mounted over the open ring to communicate with the orifice. When it is desired to close the orifice, and to protect the same, it has been the practice to remove the pouch-carrying ring device and to substitute a protector shield which may be carried by the same colostorny belt or by a separate belt device.

The present invention provides a rigid shield member which may be made of a suitable plastic material, and the protective shield is constructed to be positioned over the orifice without interrupting a passage between the orifice and a collection pouch which is carried by the same device. The device of this invention also carries a belt which can be fitted around the user so as to position the combination shield and collection means over the orifice. Thus, there is provided in the improved structure of this id Patented May 2i, i968 ICE invention a unitary Colostomy device which provides for a `collection function and which protects the body orifice from harm.

Although this invention will be described with particular reference to a colostorny device for covering an artificial orifice, it is equally adaptable to other surgical requirements for covering and protecting wounds or other openings which must be drained while they are being shielded from the atmosphere or from other external harm.

These and other advantages of this invention will become apparent in the more detailed discussion below, and in that discussion reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of the Colostomy device showing its outside surface which is away from the body of the wearer;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE l but showing the reverse side of the Colostomy device which is worn against the body of the user;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross section taken on line 3 3 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross section showing the detailed construction of mounting grooves provided on a mounting means of the colostorny device.

As shown in FIGURE l, the Colostomy device includes a molded protector shield 10 which may be molded from any resinous material that provides sutlicient rigidity to protect a body orifice from external forces, and such materials include acrylic resin and synthetic rubber. The protector shield 16 may be molded so as to conform to the body of the wearer; or it may be manufactured from a resinous material which, although rigid enough to protect the orifice, is flexible enough to conform to the body of the wearer. A means for spacing the outside wall of the shield outwardly away from the orifice when the colostorny device is attached to the persons body may be provided by molding a hollow area 12, shown in dotted outline, into a back wall 14 of the protector shield 10. The protector shield 1f) is also provided with lateral ears 16 which extend in opposite directions so as to be connected to a belt or other means for attaching the shield against the body of a person. The ears 16 are shown as including slots 18 therethrough for connecting the belt means 20 to the protectorshield.

With reference to FIGURE 2, the `hollow area 12 is shown in better detail, and that area is of a generally circular configuration which can be positioned in alignment with the orifice which the shield is protecting. The back surface wall 14 of the shield which surrounds the -hollow portion 12 is constructed to essentially conform to the body of the wearer so as to provide a seal around the en tire orifice itself.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the hollow area 12 extends from a central portion of the shield downwardly so as to form a passageway 21 which is in communication with a pouch means 22 connected to the lower central portion of the shield. The pouch means 22 may be in the form of a polyethylene bag which can be easily attached to and detached from the shield so as to hang downwardly and in communication with the hollow area 12. With the pouch 22 in its hanging position, it can be seen that drainage can take place from the body orifice into the hollow area 12 and downwardly through the passageway 21 into the collection pouch 22. While drainage is taking place,

there is at all times a close contact of the inner wall 14 around the entire oriiice, so as to seal the orifice from any drainage except into the pouch 22. The lower end of the shield includes a mounting means 24 for connecting the pouch 22 in its normal hanging position. The mounting means is formed as an extension of the shield material, and one or more grooves 23 may be provided in the surface of the mounting means 2d so as to receive elastic band members or other tying devices which attach the plastic pouch to the mounting means 24. The mounting means also includes a downwardly extending portion 26 which acts as a supplemental shield for the upper portion of the collection pouch 22. The supplemental shield 26 also acts as a guide for deecting discharges downwardly into the bag without any danger of leakage around the upper portion of the plastic bag where it is connected to the protector shield 10.

Referring to FIGURE 3, a bridging member 27 of the colostomy device is shown in cross section, and it is important that the upper portion of the member 27 be as thin as possible in the manner shown. The bridging member 27 completes the lower portion of the hollow area ll2 and provides a solid member which may be fitted against the body of the user below the stoma or orice so as to seal the colostomy device against the body of the user in that region. In order to provide a free flow of discharges from the orifice, it is preferred that the bridging member be shaped as shown so as to have a very thin wall at its uppermost portion which is immediately below the orifice.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a cross sectional detail of the preferred construction of the mounting grooves 23 which are provided in the surface of the mounting means 24. The upper mounting groove is formed to slant downwardly into the mounting means 24, and the lower groove 23 is formed to slant upwardly into the mounting means 24. The particular slants of the two separate grooves provides for tighter sealing connection between the pouch means 22 and the mounting means 24. In the preferred method of mounting the pouch onto the colostomy device, the open end of the pouch is placed over the mounting means 24, and elastic bands are placed in each of the separate grooves 23. The particular slants of the upper and lower grooves 23 causes the pouch material to be tightly sealed against the surface of the mounting means between the two grooves 23, and the upper end of the pouch is then turned downwardly and a second elastic band is placed over its exterior to complete the sealed mounting.

In use, the colostomy device of this invention provides the advantages of protecting an open orifice from an external environment, while providing for a control of discharges from the orice into a removable collection pouch. rl`he collection pouch may be easily removed and replaced without removing the entire colostomy device from the body of the user, and the protector shield is spaced from the body of the user so as to permit a free discharge into the collection pouch while the shield is in place.

Although the colostomy device has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, it is contemplated that many variations in the shape and size of the molded protector shield 10 are possible. For example, the protector shield may include other means for spacing the discharge passage away from the body orifice so as to form a communication between the orifice and a collection pouch, and other mounting means may be provided for attaching the belt 2) and the collection pouch 22 to the protector shield 10. Further, it is contemplated that the protector shield of this invention may be used for other surgical applications where it is necessary to cover and protect wounds or other body openings so as to seal such openings from an external environment, while providing for a collection of drainage from the opening. The shield may be made in various sizes and forms to cover various types of wounds and openings, and communication means may be provided through any part of the shield wall for the purpose of receiving discharges from the open wound. Other types of collection containers may be incorporated with such protective shields, but the plastic bag type of container offers the advantage of being easily removed and replaced. Also, the protector shield portion 10 of the device may be made of separate materials having characteristics of varying degrees of flexibility so that the central protective portion of the shield is more rigid than the remainder of the shield. In that way, the portions of the shield liti surrounding the artificial orifice may be made flexible enough to readily conform to the body of the user.

Other variations in this device will become apparent to those skilled in the art, and such variations are intended to be within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A surgical or colostomy device which can be attached tto 'a body for protecting a body opening while permitting drainage of iiuids `and other matter from said opening, comprising:

a relatively rigid and unitary protective shield means for positioning over said body opening, s-aid protective shield means being shaped to completely cover and protect said body opening,

a hollow area formed into a back wall of said protective shield means for positioning over said lbody opening to receive drainage from said opening, said hollow area being completely surrounded by `a back wall portion of said protective shield, and said back wall portion being shaped to conform to the general shape of the body surface around the body opening,

a passageway through a wall of said protective shield means for transferring said drained matter out of said hollow area and away from the body opening, said passageway extending laterally away from the hollow area and past a bridging member which has a body contacting portion coextensive with the back wall of the protective shield means, and said bridging member being very thin along an edge portion which is adjacent to said hollow area,

a supplemental shield means forming an extension for said passageway, said supplemental shield means functioning to extend into a collection pouch so as to carry drainage into the interior of said collection pouch, and

a removable collection pouch carried externally of said unitary protective shield means.

2. The surgical or clostomy device of claim 1 wherein said unitary protective shield means is made from a synthetic resinous material which is relatively rigid in the portion which covers the `body orifice and which is less rigid in the portions of the shield which surround the body orifice.

3. The surgical or colostomy device of claim 1 and including a motmting means for attaching said collection pouch to said protective shield means, said mounting means comprising:

a depending mounting member around which a collection pouch can be attached, said depending member including said supplemental shield and having at least two separate grooves in its surface for tying said collection means in a sealed relationship against the surface of said mounting means, said grooves including an upper groove slanting downwardly into the surface of said mounting means and a lower groove slanting upwardly into the surface of said mounting means.

4. The surgical or colostomy device of claim 1, and

including:

attachment members formed integrally with said runitary protective shield means for receiving a belt means which may be used to attach the device to the body of `a user, said attachment members extending outwardly in opposite directions from said protective shield means and having back Wall portions which are coextensive with the back wall of said protective shield means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,314,724 3/1943 Marsan 12S-283 2,652,055 9/1953 Baron 128-283 2,656,838 10/1953 McConnell 12S-283 6 2,765,790 10/1956 Dickson 12S-283 2,853,072 9/ 1958 Fischer 128-283 2,973,759 3/1961 Plymale 12S-283 FOREIGN PATENTS 245,578 4/ 1912 Germany. 1,047,381 12/ 1953 France.

CHARLES F. ROSENBAUM, Primary Examiner. 

